Creating the Iron Man HUD for Marvel's The Avengers

Stephen Lawes, creative director and co-owner of Cantina Creative, Venti Hristova, graphics and HUD supervisor, Wes Sewell, stereo supervisor, and Jayse Hansen, freelance screen designer/animator, had their work cut out for them on Marvel’s The Avengers, which premiered May 4th and has already passed the $1 billion mark. The movie, directed by Joss Whedon, features Marvel’s most popular superheroes: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. For Lawes, Hristova, and Hansen, the most challenging on-screen graphics job was the creation of the heads-up displays (HUDs) in the film, used for two versions of Iron Man’s suits. The team also created the on-screen graphics to fill in countless digital computer screens throughout the movie. Here, Lawes and Hansen talk about using Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium for the project.